How to prepare your site for content migration

How to Prepare YourSite for Migration

Deane Barker, for Siteport and Blend Interactive

#migration101

About Blend Interactive• Based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota• Specializing in web content management• Implementing multiple platforms across multiplelanguages• Specializing in EPiServer

• EPiServer’s first North American partner

About Siteport• Based in Long Beach, California• Provider of automation software and services formigrating website assets between CMSplatforms• Supports EPiServer, Ektron, Sitecore, Drupal,OpenText, SharePoint, Oracle Portal, and more

Agenda• Definitions; what is a “migration”?• What makes a migration complicated?• What are some of the challenges?• How does automation help?• Keys to a successful migration• Q & A

Definitions

Definitions• A migration is a movement from one “platform”to another• Usually CMS to CMS• Occasionally static HTML to CMS

• Source Platform• What you’re on now

• Target Platform• What you’re moving to

Definitions• Site Migration

• Movement of an entire website from one platform toanother• Includes building out the Target Platform

• Content Migration• Movement of all the content from the SourcePlatform to the Target Platform

Site Migration

Content Migration

Remember…• You need to re-implement your site in the TargetPlatform.• Unbelievably, this occasionally gets overlooked.

• “If we move all the content, won’t it look and workexactly the same in the new CMS?”

• A website is a combination of:• Content• Programming• Design

• They all have to migrate and be “re-wired” in theTarget Platform

Types of Site Migrations• CMS Only (“Forklift”)

• Rebuild the exact same website, just powered by adifferent CMS

• CMS and Re-design• The same content and basic architecture, but a newCMS and a new design• Efficient, since templating usually has to be re-doneanyway

• Complete Re-implementation• Fundamental changes to content, architecture, orfunctionality.• Essentially a new, ground-up implementation project

“We love our content, ourIA, and our design.Wejust want a new CMS.”

(This is a site migration.)

“As long as we’reswapping out the CMS,we want a new design.And we hate our content.And do it all in a new

language.”(This is more of a complete re-implementation.)

Complicating Factors

What makes a migration complicated?

• How much automation can you bring to bear onthe migration?• Factors

• Volume of content• Velocity of content• Cleanliness of content• Discrete structure of content• Relational structure of content• Reusability of Source Platform artifacts

Volume• Your first decision is manual vs. automated.• In a manual migration, it becomes a problem ofpure manpower• Significant content rules out a manual migration

Velocity• Low velocity content imparts a certain amount of“leisure”• High-velocity content becomes a moving target• High-velocity content compresses your contentfreeze• A highly-automated migration that limits downtimemight be your only option

• Different sections of content on the same sitecan have differing degrees of velocity

Cleanliness• A migration is a great time to clean-up old, non-standard content• How “dirty” is the current HTML?

• Content coming out of a competent CMS is likelyquite clean• Static HTML content is usually a disaster

• How predictable are the transformations?• Can they be automated?

Discrete Structure• How structured is the content in the SourcePlatform?• How structured does it need to be in the TargetPlatform?• How much does this differ from the Source Platform?

• How cleanly can you identify and extractindividual properties/fields?

Relational Structure• How interlinked is the content?

• Spatial / hierarchical relationships• Ordinal relationships• Field-level references• HTML links

• What relationships need to be represented viaimport?• How easily can those links be resolved and fixedafter migration?

Products

Product 1

Description Documentation

User Guide

DeveloperGuide

Product 2 Product 3

Spatial /Hierarchy

Ordinal

Reusability of Artifacts

• Templating Code (HTML/CSS)• Content Architecture, Structure, and Navigation• Integration Code

Templating Code• If you’re not changing your design, this is highlyre-usable• It exists on two levels:

• The templating code, which is likely useless• The rendered HTML, which is valuable

• Re-using this is a process of reverse engineeringthe rendered HTML into new templating logic

Content Architecture• If you’re not changing your core architecture, andthe Target Platform shares core architecturalconcepts, then this might be valuable.• It will still need to be re-implemented, but thelogical questions have been solved, which issignificant.

Example:Your navigation is rendered by traversing a content tree for “parent,” “sibling,”and “child” pages.

Integration Code• Non-CMS code to integrate with other systemsand provide other functionality• Applications• External system functionality

• If you’re not changing programming platforms,then you can probably re-use much of this• If you change languages, then all bets are off.

Business Challenges

Business Challenges

• Minimizing the editorial disruption• Managing QA• Managing Stakeholders

Minimize the Content Freeze• A “content freeze” is the period when editors areprohibited from changing content on the SourcePlatform• Changes to content in the Source Platform willhave to be re-migrated or replicated in theTarget Platform.• Content freezes are precarious and stressful tothe organization.

Review

Adjust

Migrate

Source Target

While this ishappening….

…migrated content isdisposable.

The Automated Migration Cycle

After you hit the limits ofyour automated

migration, you have tocommit.

Do you launch withcontent less than perfect,or do you implement a

content freeze?

Minimize QA• Content has to be quality-checked aftermigration to the Target Platform• This usually requires domain knowledge, whichcan be expensive in terms of time.• Less fidelity means more QA.

Managing Stakeholders• When they hear the site is migrating, everyonewill want input• Questions of whether or not to migrate ContentX can become highly politicized• For every bit of content and functionality in yourSource Platform, someone is likely expecting it onyour Target Platform

The Role ofAutomation

The Role of Automation• Speed up the cycle, so you get more iterations inless time• Standardize the migration, so you can testmigrations early in the process, then run themconfidently later in the process• Transform content during a migration• Handle the rote movement of bytes

“The Pushbutton Migration”• In a perfect world, you can “bottle” the migrationas an elaborate macro, then just press a buttonand migrate when you’re ready to launch.• The actual, technical movement of bytes fromone platform or another might take just minutes.• …which means your content freeze only lastsminutes.

• The preparation for that moment might takemonths.• A Pushbutton Migration is only possible withautomation.

Manageability• Large parts of a migration fall into patterns,which don’t need to be re-solved.• As a migration becomes more complicated, scriptmanagement becomes a bigger and biggerproblem• The goal is predictable repeatability of iterations• Avoid: a confusing mess of one-off scripts

• Even worse: a single person who knows how it allworks

Keys to a SuccessfulMigration

Keys• Perform a ruthless content inventory• Limit scope, if possible• Get enough organizational backing to effectivelymanage stakeholders• Find a competent automation solution• Over-allocate time and budget• Ensure enough resources are available duringthe content freeze• “All hands.”

Contact Us

Blend Interactivewww.blendinteractive.com

Siteportwww.siteport.net

Q and A